Purification and properties of dihydrofolate reductase from methotrexate-sensitive and methotrexate-resistant Chinese hamster ovary cells

We have previously described methotrexate-resistant Chinese hamster ovary cells which appear to contain normal levels of a structurally altered dihydrofolate reductase (EC 1.5.1.3) (Flintoff, W. F., Davidson, S. V., and Siminovitch, L. (1976) Somatic Cell Genet. 2, 245–261). By selecting for increased resistance from these class I cells, class III resistant cells were isolated which appeared to possess an increased activity of the altered enzyme. In this report, we describe the purification and several properties of the reductase from wild-type cells, two independently selected class I cells, and a class III resistant cell. The reductases from wild-type and resistant cells had similar specific activities using folate and dihydrofolate as substrates, and similar molecular weights as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis. The mutant enzymes, however, were about six- to eight-fold more resistant to inhibition by methotrexate than the wild-type enzyme, suggesting a decreased affinity of the mutant reductases to methotrexate-binding. Small differences between various enzymes were also seen in other physicochemical properties such as pH optima and Km values for folate, and in their heat stabilities, which suggest that different structural alterations may lead to the same mutant phenotype. As expected from earlier studies with crude extracts, class III cells did produce a higher (about 10-fold) yield of the reductase than the class I or wild-type cells.